A paraplegic inmate filed a lawsuit on May 3, 1994 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the First, Fourth, Eighth, Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments, various state laws, and a consent ...
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A paraplegic inmate filed a lawsuit on May 3, 1994 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the First, Fourth, Eighth, Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments, various state laws, and a consent decree (in some unnamed case, entered 11/10/1992). The plaintiff alleged that he was denied use of his wheelchair, was not provided with toilet or shower facilities designed for disabled persons, was not provided with cold water in his cell, and was forced to sleep in a cell that was too small, resulting in an injury to his foot and leg.

The plaintiff sought compensatory and punitive damages. The District Court (Judge William Harold Albritton III) dismissed the plaintiff's request for punitive damages, holding that cities and counties are immune from punitive damages under § 1983 and punitive damages are not available under the ADA. Additionally, the District Court held that violation of the consent decree could not be a basis for the suit. Harrelson v. Elmore County, 859 F.Supp. 1465 (M.D.Ala. 1994).

On August 23, 1995, the District Court granted summary judgment for the defendants for all claims brought pursuant to § 1983 and eliminating some of the plaintiff's ADA claims. Additionally, the District Court granted the defendant's motion for summary judgment for all claims based on state law. On November 8, 1995, a jury found against the plaintiff and for Elmore County. The case was closed on November 9, 1995, and motions to vacate judgment and for a new trial were subsequently denied. The docket entries on an administrative matter continued through November 2001.

This case is in the Clearinghouse only because it refers to the earlier consent decree.